Brief Encounters
by Tekunin
Summary: Not every encounter between legends leads to an epic quest or a world-changing development. Here are some of the brief encounters between heroes, demons, villains and deities. Encounters between Smash Bros that aren't epic enough to be recorded in history
1. Aura

Oh, man. I'm no stranger to fanfiction but I've never submitted anything to other than reviews so I'm feeling particularly nervous. This is the first of a series of short stories featuring brief encounters between two smash bros, enjoy!

Aura

_Featuring Luigi and Lucario_

_I've had a rough week _thought Luigi. Luigi had told Mario he had gone to Hoenn for a vacation (which for some reason, never seem to work out in their own world) and hastily left for departure. After a troublesome experience involving the airlines involving delays, mix-ups and a god awful in-flight movie based on a battle against humanoid inter-dimensional dinosaurs he had somehow managed to get to the correct destination with his wallet and sanity intact.

Luigi had then spent the next few days in purchasing a PokeNav, figuring out how to use it (the damn things just keep getting smaller!) and wandering aimlessly throughout Hoenn. After purchasing a bike, finding out that he had the wrong kind of bike and thus would not be able to take the mountain shortcuts, he had really started getting envious when gigantic birds flew above his head, carrying people.

Luigi still could not wrap his head around the way this society works. People kidnap animals from their environments, the animals accept their captors as friend and master, the end result being that teenagers are walking around with creatures that could lay entire armies to waste. Some of them seemed to be as big as buildings. _Guess that's why they've never had war declared on them. 'Unlike some people' _thought Luigi grimly.

On the way, at least three people would leap out of bushes, trees and plain sight just to ambush Luigi. He would then be screamed at to "BATTLE!!" and be bombarded with electric mouse's, flaming slugs and (Luigi's personal least favorite so far) toxic specters. Luigi would then calmly tell the overactive Pokémon trainer to lay down his arms (the enthusiastic trainer would occasionally order his monster to punch him in the gut) and patiently wait for him/her to get the message and eventually leave to yell at another random stranger when ether their pockets or belt seem suspiciously big.

After a long journey, Luigi had made it to Lavaridge Town. Covered in cuts and bruises from his journey (between giant monsters and massive natural terrain, just how do people survive this on a regular lifestyle?). Luigi did not stop here to visit the springs though. Luigi took a cable car up to mount chimney and sat down near the tourists who had come to see the volcano. The sun went down. The tourists began to go home. Luigi waited.

Luigi stood up, stretched his legs and checked the PokeNav. Surely he would not have to wait this much longer. Ah, wait. _I can feel him, we can all feel him, he can feel everything._ Luigi turned around and noticed the familiar blue-furred, humanoid canine that was Lucario. He walked straight past him and kneeled down at the edge of the volcano. The light from the furnace like blaze illuminated his eyes, his compassionate yet sorrow filled eyes. Luigi walked over to him and kneeled down next to him.

Luigi cleared his throat and Lucario showed no signs of response. Luigi spoke to him anyway. "Ahem!" he began "err...ahaa." _Get to the point, _he thought.

"Okay" he continued "okay".

Lucario continued to stare into the volcano. _Okay, that's sure a_ g_ood sign._

"I went on this adventure with Mario a while back. A _long _while back if you think about it. But anyway, we went to the past and met our younger selves and--" _Stop it Luigi, he has little interest in that. _Luigi changed gears in his conversation and quickly started again_ "_Look. First of all, you probably want to know how I tracked you down. You know about the legendary beasts' right? And there are those flying bird things. The unique ones, you know?" Luigi took a close look at Lucario, he did not really move but showed some faint signs of recognition. Encouraged, Luigi pressed onwards "So, anyway. In Smash Bros events we have sometimes used Poke balls in our battles. Now, all of the Smash Bros have a Pokedex to help us understand how to put these balls to use, right?" still silence "but anyway. I heard this thing about those legendaries I mentioned a few minutes back. I heard that the Pokedex could track them down one after having encountered one, which intrigued me. It turns out that the Pokedex does a sort of bio-scan and records some basic info. Animal cries, footprints and habitats. More info can be found if the Pokémon is captured of course but you probably know all about that"

Luigi chuckled to himself. "But you see, despite the fact that these are handed out to kids and teenagers, the PokeDex is capable of so much more than people think. I thought, _'hey, if they can track a legendary though DNA alone can they do it to a normal Pokémon?' _Turns out that the legendaries can be found by this method easily because there is so few of them, but nobody ever wondered, what if someone could isolate the DNA scan so it only found one particular regular Pokémon. Like you Lucario"

Luigi was quite pleased with himself for remembering most of the details; people took you more seriously that way. "So I asked Red if he knew someone who could help me do this. He did. Dr. Wood or something like that and after searching though every little seat that I ever saw you sit on I finally managed to provide a strand of a certain someone's blue hair for that good professor. Then I found you Lucario. Really surprised that you where in Hoenn though."

Having been made aware of this information Lucario's nose seemed crinkle in annoyance. Luigi took this moment of concentration as an opportunity to continue "of course, now you're probably wondering _why_ I found you. You see...after we met during the Subspace incident I was curious as to how you where able to read Auras, I felt that I could use this. But I could not just find any Lucario. You're the only wild one that I know as a friend, the only one who would trust me."

That was the easy bit out of the way; Luigi could tell that Lucario was paying attention even if he did not look at him. They stared at the magma for a little longer, it moved in mighty waves. A powerful and dormant destructive force. Luigi began to sweat and took off his hat. He coughed a little. "That...adventure I mentioned where I went back in time? Well, as incredible as it seems time-travel is not the bit that should concern you really" Luigi stopped to consider what he was about to share with Lucario, not even Mario had heard about it. "It's like this" He said once again "We all come across this big gate with a face on it. It reads Mario's very soul and lets him though, no surprise really. But when it came to me...It was horrible. I could feel the darkness within me rise up, I could feel every shred of guilt, jealously and greed I had ever felt. No hate...at least hate would not show me the darkness within _myself_ so much." Luigi put his head in his hands "It wouldn't let me though until I pasted a test of courage. Being the guy he is, Mario had no trouble coming to terms with that, I believed I had redeemed myself too, I almost forgot about it."

"Until Mr. L that is" Luigi stared at the moon, recalling the circumstances that caused Mr. L's creation. Luigi once again was having doubts as to press on further with the conversation with Lucario (which was still pretty one-sided really). _What the hell, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, you need to get it out of your system someday._ "One of my recent ventures involved me meeting someone called Dementino, nasty piece of work. He gained an artifact known as the Chaos Heart. It contained so much darkness. There was so much shadow. He used this to brainwash me. I became Mr. L and tried to destroy my brother." Luigi noticed that his eyes were beginning to water. Lucario did not seem to notice the angst on Luigi's face. "Do you know the worst part?! He said..! He Said! He said that I was connected to the Chaos Heart. It wasn't his doing! Do you know what it's like to find that you're the host of a dormant evil entity!? And that you always have and will be!?"

Luigi was at the verge of tears now but didn't stop. He may never get this close again. "Mario defeated me. Several times in fact. No surprise really. I always knew he was better than me." Luigi noticed that Lucario had turned his back to him and jumped onto his feet in fury "Don't you get it!? I'm still a threat! What if I attacked him while he was sleeping, huh?! Or maybe finishing him off after he emerges from a difficult and tiring battle?! What if I leave him to his fate when he needs my help?!"

Luigi was waving his arms around erratically. He ran in front of Lucario, who was_ still _managing to avoid looking at him. "Do you know where the world would be without my brother!? He has saved his and many other worlds more times than I can count! He has come to my rescue! I've followed him to hell and back! It's because I have faith in him. I need him to continue living. If I betrayed him then I'm not sure If I could live with it."

Luigi sank to his knees. God. He had never been so furious. He had never expressed this before and it had bottled up inside him. "Lucario" said Luigi "you can read Aura's. You know a person's true nature just by examining them. You can look into my _soul._"

Luigi sighed. "That's the reason I came here you see. I need you to read my aura. I need to know if I'm a threat. I need to know what to do." Lucario still did not respond. Luigi could not take it anymore. "You know what Lucario!? You may like being a loner! It looks cool and all! I don't know what your past is like because _you _won't share it with anybody! Me on the other hand...I'm dependant on Mario! He has done so much for me and asked for nothing in return! I'm repaying him for that! It's not for selfish reasons I'm doing this!"

Silence.

"Can you _HEAR ME_ Lucario!! Luigi screamed in desperation. He bolted towards the Pokémon with incredible speed, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around "Face Me!"

What Luigi saw...he was never prepared for. It hit him straight in his gut.

Lucario was crying.

Luigi felt the anger drain from him as quickly as it came. He was speechless. The silence continued for what seemed like forever. To his memory, Lucario had _never _shed a tear in his life. And yet...when looking at him now...he looked so different. Lucario often sported a proud, confident and silent figure. It looked as though he could take the world head-on with nobody standing in his path. He did not look so invincible anymore.

"Lucario?" whispered Luigi

Lucario had never looked so venerable before. He never gave up. He never cried. And now he looked so _fragile_.

Luigi could see purple flames arise from the weeping figure of Lucario. It engulfed him. Luigi knew it was not actually fire. It was Aura. _It was life._

For the first time in that night Lucario looked at Luigi face to face. Luigi noticed something in his eyes he had always missed.

_Loneliness and worry._

He was more human than he would have ever imagined.

_**Luigi...**_

"Is this telepathy...?"

_**Not quite. I am communicating from Aura to Aura.**_

"Lucario, I am sorry. Will you still read my Aura?"

_**I already did. I read your Aura the second I came near you. It's not voluntary. I can focus it sure, but it's always happening. I can see the Aura of everybody I come into contact with. I can see the Joys, desires, greed, lust, pity, concern, love and anger within every, last soul.**_

"Oh" is all Luigi could manage. Realization dawned on him. "Oh, God! I never knew!"

_**That's why I don't spend more time with people. I feel everything. It bores into my mind until the point that I can't even think anymore. That's why I train in mountains, lonely, desolate mountains. Mountains can't think, they have no worries. I can't stop emotions flow into me. I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anybody to know. I feel often fall like I am falling apart. **_Lucario then stepped closer to Luigi and put his arm on his shoulder. _**You have experienced much wonder and sorrow.**_

"I don't really think--"

_**You have saved worlds. You have seen betrayal. You have had fun. You have fought and lived alongside Mario like a true brother and companion. You have faced your fears for him. You have seen the many faces of evil. You have defeated them.**_

"Your just being--"

_**YOU have defeated true evil. If there is darkness within yourself... **_Lucario, for the first time Luigi can remember...not only smiled. But grinned. _**I don't think it has a chance.**_

Lucario let go of Luigi's shoulder and began to walk away. "Wait!" yelled Luigi. Lucario turned his head. _**Yes?**_

"You never told me...Is that evil...will it ever break free?"

_**Luigi...I...I am so, so sorry...I'm afraid that...**_

"What!?" screamed Luigi, his face an expression of horror.

_**...I don't know. **_Lucario said very simply.

_**But I'll tell you this. If it emerges. Then it is down to you and you alone to stop it. No, wait...that may not be strictly true. You are fortunate you see. You have friends and comrades that are willing to help you. This is a blessing. Never, ever forget that.**_

Lucario finally walked out of sight. Luigi did not get what he had come for but felt that he had just gained something valuable. Luigi shrugged. He had to search his own soul, but just rummaging through just creates a mess. He would take his time. The first time all week Luigi smiled. He would take his time...but for now...Ever Grande seems like a nice place to visit...

--

Um, that was longer than planned. But hey, the more the merrier.

Reviews are welcome; it helps me know where I went right, where I went wrong and whether people are actually reading it! :) Seriously though, I would appreciate to see what's on your mind.


	2. Bounty

Thank you very much for the reviews I have received. This story is in a slightly different layout, hopefully its better. (Some dialogue may be confusing if you don't know the basic Metroid storyline). On with the show.

Bounty

_Featuring Samus Aran and Captain Falcon_

The city was not unlike those found in Tokyo on Earth. It had lights and buildings everywhere. It was raining. There was a figure in the recently evacuated city center who was sporting a breathing mask, life-support armor and what seemed to be jeans.

"Is that all you've got!?" yelled the angry cyborg criminal.

He was the bounty.

Samus had received the mission to apprehend the elusive Duros Headstrong to justice only mere hours ago, Samus was less than happy with last minute arrangements but notherless knew that she could do with the money. Besides, this guy was a pro at hiding. His mind contained information that allowed him to cross the borders of many planets without detection, security codes and the like and Samus knew that if she was to let him go he would not be found for many more years. During that time he could harm a great deal of people and she could never allow that.

Duros raised his forearms at Samus and fired balls of plasma at her at speeds she had not expected. Samus, aided by the combination of her body enhancing Chozo armor, genetic alterations and intense acrobatic training managed to get herself clear of his assault with a series of back flips that would be impossible for a regular human to accomplish. Samus ran back towards Duros and leaped into the air. She curled her body in mid-air and became surrounded by energy. She rapidly spun in the air with the power of her screw attack and speeded towards Duros.

Duros fired off another barrage of plasma projectiles but they bounced off due to the sheer force of the screw attack. But Duros was smart enough to know that if he continued to stand there and fire blindly at Samus, her screw attack form would end up cutting his arm off. Duros stopped firing and waited on the spot. Before Samus could register the fact that he was no longer firing she was already too close. Duros arm transfigured into a gigantic blade and he smashed it directly into Samus not unlike how somebody would knock a baseball from the sky. She landed in front of him with her shields severely drained from the strain of preventing her from being cut in half. As Samus recovered from the shock of being snapped out of screw attack form Duros prepared to swing down his blade on her.

_"Falcon Punch!!"_

The muscular figure of Captain Falcon had appeared from seemingly out of nowhere at high speed. In a single instant his fist was already in contact with Duro's blade, which was less than an inch away from making contact with Samus. The blade shattered into pieces that flew everywhere in the very next second. After realizing what a close situation she had just been in Samus spun around and smashed her armored fist into Duros's gut, sending him flying into a nearby building and leaving a massive visible zone of impact on the wall.

Samus got to her feet and gave a thumbs-up to her fellow bounty hunter and smash brother Captain Falcon. The captain moves and an outfit that seemed right at home in an anime cartoon, but no matter how over the top Captain Falcon may seem Samus knew that he was the real deal. Captain Falcon was a hardened bounty hunter who risked his life even more at the F-Zero racing tournaments; he had gained many enemies over the years and Samus's respect.

"That's not the only weapon he has!" yelled Samus at Falcon's direction.

"I know, I was watching" replied the captain "Let's do this!"

Captain Falcon charged towards Duros with his hands covered in flames, dodging the barrage of Duros's plasma balls on the way. Duros continued to occupy the Captain's attention with one hand's projectiles while turning his spare hand into a missile launcher. Duros stopped firing at Falcon and quickly aimed his missile at him. Samus fired a super missile into his side and disrupted his aiming, the missile flew harmlessly in the wrong direction and Captain Falcon took advantage of this spare moment. He smashed his fist into Duros's face and ended the fight.

--

"That was tougher than I expected from him" said Samus, throwing the sleeping body of Duros over her shoulder "But I guess that's how he survived this long, thanks for the assist".

Samus was about to walk off but Captain Falcon held his arm in front of her.

"Excuse me, but I was hired to catch this guy and I intend to complete my mission" He declared.

"My client hired another bounty hunter?" asked Samus but was responded by the Captain shaking his head.

"Trust me. I sincerely doubt they hired you, they don't like you that much."

Samus frowned beneath her mask. She dreaded the day this sort of thing happened.

"Look Falcon, I know this guy is worth a lot but I need the money far more than you do" declared Samus. She felt ashamed for making a selfish sounding statement but wanted to get this awkward situation out of the way as soon as possible. "And besides. You own a chain of Islands as your safe-houses while _I_ have to split my time between renting my way around the universe and spending the night in that cramped ship of mine."

"Do you think those islands come cheap? F-Zero only comes around once a year and you get regular galactic federation missions that pay a lot more than most bounty hunters get for an individual job. Besides, you owe me. That guy was going to destroy you!"

Samus put the body of Duros on the floor and stepped towards Falcon. "Excuse me, but I have survived _a lot_ worse than that in my lifetime. I have been a fighting since the age of sixteen."

Captain Falcon was secretly cringing inside as to how childish this argument was sounding but knew that Samus did not actually hold any malice towards him and that this was expected when two bounty hunters had conflicted assignments. Some tried to kill each other over the bounty; Falcon decided that the schoolboy argument was the better option. "I destroyed his sword _and _inflicted the finishing blow! You got yourself in that situation yourself!"

"You would not have reached him if I had not fired a super missile!" yelled Samus who threw her arms into the air "And besides don--"

They both stared at each other awkwardly.

"This is getting kind of pointless" admitted Samus "Look Captain...this guy has killed a body count of well over 200, my client has a very large bone to pick with him"

"This guy has destroyed entire planets because of his meddling! _My_ client happened to know some people on those planets"

Samus winced at this statement. She was very glad that Falcon could not see the expression. She still felt guilt as to how many planets where destroyed during her own missions. Her guilt was quickly drifted aside as she noticed something vitally important about the sentence that the Captain just said. "Who is your client?"

"Sorry?" said Falcon surprised. He was clearly not expecting the conversation to go this direction.

"That client of yours... You said they didn't like me." Samus pointed her finger at Falcon furiously "Please tell me...oh how could you!?"

"Look that's classified info. I'm not at liberat--"

"Screw that Falcon!" yelled Samus "you accepted a bounty from somebody who you _knew _was my enemy!? Please tell me it wasn't the space pirates! Was it Ridley himself dammit!!?"

Captain Falcon could not see though Samus's visor but knew this was upsetting her. No doubt she saw this as a betrayal of trust. He could not imagine how much this would be hurting her, he knew her long enough to realize that Samus did not have that many friends. She was too scared of losing them; she had suffered so much with the death of her parents and the Chozo that she pushed everybody away from her in fear. The Captain's conscience finally caved in. This was far beyond the whole "schoolboy argument" crap, he was causing emotional scars. There was no other option now. He had to tell her.

"It was the Kriken" he said quietly. He was looking at his knees.

"Are you Blood Falcon!?" yelled Samus furiously "Or Maybe you just--What!?"

The Captain looked back up. Samus stood in front of him still. Her violent gestures had stopped. She looked directly at him. She was saying nothing. The silence continued for just a full minute. To Captain Falcon, that minute was utterly unbearable.

"How?" said Samus at last. No hint of anger was in her voice. Instead he could now hear her _disappointment. _"How could you work with the Kriken? They decimate civilizations. Dominate worlds. Perform genocide. How could you deal with those butchers?"

"Samus?"

"..."

"Samus. I had to." Captain Falcon wiped his brow and continued "Samus, you don't know how much they want this guy."

"Why should that be any of your concern?" asked Samus bitterly "Why do you care what they want?"

"Listen Samus, I met them by pure chance. Through circumstances I would rather not discuss I found that they were going to send a unit to go after this guy anyway."

Samus was confused as to why this mattered but steadily realized. "They would have wiped out anybody in the surrounding area."

"That's right. I convinced them that since this guy shows up very rarely and I was closer to the area of which he had been sighted and would be more likely to catch him before he escaped. They probably would not even _consider_ making a deal with a human like me if not for the situation"

"Hmmm" said Samus who was deep in thought. "If I hand them over to mine or only other clients then they would be attacked by swarms of Kriken until the planet he is on is left uninhabited. But! If we left him here then the same would have happened to this planet."

"That's why I think it's important that we hand him over to the Krikens."

Samus shook her head grimly. "What do you know about Duros Headstrong Captain?"

"I don't come to your world so often Samus. I only heard about this guy a few minutes back and skimmed his life history file to know that he is _very _elusive and that he blew up a few planets that the Krikens wanted their hands on."

"Captain. By means unknown Duros has information that allows him to infiltrate the borders of many, many planets. There is nobody else with that much security information and he is untouchable as a result. That's the sole reason this poor excuse of a person is still alive. What would happen if the Krikens managed to get that information out of him?"

"Oh good lord..." gasped Captain Falcon in horror "If we don't hand him over..."

"...Then they will rip up the galaxy trying to find him. If any planet executes him then they will do the same, just to set an example" finished Samus "And if we do hand him over..."

"...Then the Kriken Empire will have access to...Oh God!"

"Correct. Most of the planets in this galaxy will be under their threat. Defense systems would do nothing."

"Who are your clients Samus?" quickly asked the Captain, trying to take the initiative and think of how they could get out of this mess.

"The Vhozons. They have a strong sense of justice and wanted to bring Duros to Vho so he could be executed. I went to fetch him for the same reason as you. I was closer to his location and more likely to intercept him. Fate sure likes to be cruel to us."

"We could hand him over to the Vhozons? They are powerful enough to fight off the Krikens..."

"No. The sheer size of the empire is too great. Many planets are taken by the Kriken each year cycle. I don't want to attract their attention to any particular one."

"We could risk taking him to the Krikens? From what I hear, they are so bloodthirsty that they will probably kill Headstrong before they even remember about his information."

"We can't take that risk. There is too much at stake." Samus sighed and rested her head in her hand "I'm going to have to kill him."

"What!?" The Captain was surprised that Samus would even consider the idea "But you just said--"

"No government will be killing him. The Krikens would not target planets but me instead. The Vhozons would not mind. They care more about justice than who delivers it." Samus had said this in such a stern tone that it scared Captain Falcon.

"That's a death sentence Samus!! To yourself!! Can you really even bring yourself to do it? He is unconscious"

"I had to detach myself from caring about sentiment life the second I chose this path in life. Besides, no matter what we do, he will be executed anyway. I can't back down now."

Falcon panicked as his friend began to turn around. She was ready to risk her life for countless others. "Samus! They would just destroy whatever planet you are on!"

"Then I will have to be _really _careful in not being spotted" she replied in a tone with no regret "If they find me, I will have to turn myself over to them."

"Samus wait!" the Captain's mind desperately raced for solutions to this dilemma. Duros needed to die to ensure the lives of many others. Even if they helped him escape, he would only continue to destroy more lives himself. Duros needed to die. Duros needed to--That was the answer!

"Samus!!" yelled Falcon very loudly "I know what to do!!"

Samus turned around curiously and stopped in her tracks. "Seriously?" she asked in a mixture of disbelief and relief.

"Samus. What if we fake his suicide?"

"What?" asked Samus, confused. "What do you plan to accomplish?"

"If the Krikens think that he put an end to his own life then they won't go after anybody" explained Falcon. "We could hand him over to the Galactic Federation and they could hold him without anybody ever knowing. Nobody risks their lives. Nobody has to kill anybody. And we would probably still get paid by the GF."

Samus could barely hide how impressed she was at Falcon's plan. "That could work...as disturbing as it sounds I know a place nearby that can have a lifeless clone of Duros's body created. He won't give us away either, he would have too much to risk." Excitement flooded Samus's being. "Captain! You are a genius!" she exclaimed, punching the air.

Falcon's face now consisted entirely of a big wide grin. He was very relieved to stop her from performing the action that would condemn her. "I try to do my best miss. Now let's get to work!"

The two bounty hunters turned around and froze on the spot. Their smiles vanished from their faces. "Where did he go?" whispered Samus in horror.

--

Things moved very quickly from that point on. Samus used her visor's thermal imaging to locate a building that contained four people. One of them was lying on the floor, his temperature had dropped. "Oh God no. Please no. Pease no." Samus chanted to herself as she speeded towards the nearby diner. Captain Falcon had trouble catching up with her, if she was this desperate to reach Duros then there is only one thing that could have happened...

Without hesitation Samus ripped the doors to the diner straight off, refusing to waste time waiting for them to open themselves. She found Duros standing in there. He had blood dripping down his mouth. She saw a very evil smile. Her eyes darted to the table near them. A man was lying on it with his heart removed. Like some barbaric sacrifice. The guy who worked here was cowering behind a counter. Her eyes darted back to Duros. He was holding a woman. The dead man's girlfriend? Fiancée? Wife? Sister? Associate? A bystander? She would never know. What mattered now was that Duros stood in the middle of the diner with the woman being held as a human shield.

Duros laughed. He coughed up blood and pressed his palm to the woman's head. He said stuff. She could not really catch any of it. It didn't matter. She knew that resistance would result in the death of the hostage. She was a little girl now. She could hear an older woman screaming as a monster ripped her apart. It should have been her. She could hear a man she knew all her life scream from his attempt at fighting these monsters. It should have been her. She was older now. She could hear more screams. Somewhere on Bryyo a man impaled himself and screamed. She did that. Somewhere acid was filling the heavens and she witnessed herself scream. It was a reflection of what should have been. A man sacrificed himself to save her. It should have been her. Dammit! Why!? She knew that if that woman in front of her died then her screams would echo though her head for the rest of her life. She knew that if she tried to save her then she would be killed. If she gave herself up, the woman would be killed anyway. She had thought that her dilemma with the Kriken was hard. She now knew what a tough decision was.

_What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?_

A plasma bolt hit her in the chest. She didn't notice before. She had just hit the wall as a result of the recoil of the attack.

Captain Falcon came in. He was yelling at Duros. Making threats. Reading charges. Performing negotiations. The women kicked Duros and attempted to flee. Samus heard the sound that she had hoped not to hear.

Gunshot. Scream. Scream. Screeeeeaaaaaaam.

Samus sat up. Duros noticed that she still lived. She switched to Plasma Beam. _Is he still firing at me?_ Aimed her arm cannon_. Am I hurt? _Charged her cannon. _Is she hurt? _Her arm cannon fired. _Is she still alive? Please. Please Bird Grandpa. Please birdies. Please Dad. Please Mum. Don't let her follow you yet...Don't..._

Samus blacked out.

--

"Samus!" yelled a voice "Samus!!"

Samus's eyes slowly opened. A blur was standing in front of her. There was a _bird _on his head. _No, it's not the birds I want to see. They won't ever come back._ "Falcon?" muttered Samus in a disorientated way "Where--?"

"You are on board the Falcon Flier. It's parked on a moon somewhere. Could you please get your ship to land on where those landing beacons I set up are? The last thing we need is for your involvement to be known. So get it off that planet."

"Huh? Oh! Right!" Samus then used her command visor to summon her ship to the moon that the Falcon Flier had landed on. "Wait...!" Samus shoved Falcon aside and instinctively leaped to her feet. Alert. She then noticed that Duros was nowhere in sight. "What happened?"

"You destroyed him. Your Plasma Beam completely disintegrated his body. That means--"

"No. The woman. What happened to her?"

"Some doctors where heading to the area as soon as your fight with Duros had ended. That headed into the zone to see if anybody was injured, that fight _was _enough to have the area evacuated after all. It was practically a disaster zone."

"So...?"

"They got to her. I have her medical files here. They saved her see? She was pregnant too. Two months. I managed to take a copy from the doctors when they were not looking. I felt that you would want to know."

Samus was relieved at hearing this information. She was too relieved for words. "Thank you." Then she remembered. "Falcon! The Kriken!"

"Duros's body was disintegrated. I could not fake his suicide and had to change my plan." The Captain did his cheesy, happy, self-satisfied grin once again. "Wanna hear it?"

"You stopped them?"

"Oh heavens no. I changed their target." Captain Falcon leaned against the wall and began unwrapping what seemed to be a chocolate bar "I called my "clients" and told them that I had killed Duros Headstrong. Want some? It's good for stressful missions" he said, offering Samus some of his chocolate.

"You...You..."

"I try to do my best! Seriously though, have some."

"You...You arrogant...You idiot!!" yelled Samus "This ship sticks out in the galaxy like a copper lighthouse and you just gave them a reason to hunt you down!!"

"Samus. Calm down." said the Captain calmly "I rarely go to your world, the Kriken _definitely_ don't know how to get to mine or any other worlds. Despite the fact that neither of us got paid, I am safe."

"Thank God" whispered Samus. _Thank God. Thank God._

"Samus."

"Hmm?"

"What happened back in the diner?" Falcon's voice was now serious.

"Nothing" she replied a little too quickly.

"You froze on the spot when you saw the hostage. You let Headstrong blast you. I heard you whispering to yourself after you blacked out from your injuries."

"...It's nothing" added Samus in desperation.

"Samus. You have survivor's guilt."

"No...No, I don't. I don't Captain. I really don't."

"Samus. I am not in the mood for stalling. Take off your mask."

"What? I don't want any of that choco--"

"Take. It. Off. Please."

Samus's helmet disappeared. Her eyes were red. She collapsed into Captain Falcon's arms. "The screams." she stuttered "The screams. The screams of friends. The screams of comrades. The screams of family. The screams of my victims. The screams. The scr--"

"Calm down Samus. Nobody is in danger right now." said the captain reassuringly. "Please. Please calm down."

--

Okay now. That's another brief encounter all written up! Did you like it? Hate it? Prefer the previous one? Prefer this to the previous one? Know where I could do better? Wanna make recommendations? Wanna just say what's on your mind? Then please review! It makes me happy :)


	3. Indestuctible

Here is another. Let me know what you think in the reviews.

Indestructible

_Featuring Wolf O'Donnell and Bowser_

Ah, war.

I am Wolf O'Donnell.

I know a lot about war.

A war is a senseless argument between people.

_Powerful _people.

And because they have power, these leaders drag their own loving public into the argument.

They march the civilians whose safety was entrusted to them into the slaughterhouse.

This continues until one of those leaders are declared _hard enough _and therefore winner of the argument.

If you are not one of these men without power, then you are the loyal subjects. The loyal subjects are the cannon fodder used in these arguments.

War is not glorious. War is hell.

If you want freedom then don't ever declare loyalty.

That's the philosophy that I have been living by for as long as I can remember.

_I don't wield power but I don't serve under anybody else's power. I can take advantage of your little pathetic argument. What happens when the best fighters are not on either side? Oh, you so beg to fate that they don't turn to the opposition. It really pains you to consider a combatant as good as me happens to have no loyalty whatsoever. I can bleed you dry of your resources, O great leaders. I am not part of your little war games. I just come in to collect the winnings. Because you see...war is pointless. Just a pointless little conflict, no reason the everyman should be mixed up in it right? I am not part of your war games, o great leaders. That is why I am not a pawn. It is the pawns that can do nothing. The pawns are sacrificed. The pawns are your loving public. If a pawn reaches the other side they are something much more. But that is not enough, you see. No. No matter how far a pawn goes they will be forever binded to their allegiance. The king. As the pawns represent the loyal subjects of the kingdom, the kings represent the leaders and warmongers that forever plague society. That's the key to survival. The chess game is not entirely accurate you see. You only see black and white. The pieces are binded to their allegiances. I have no colour, I have independence. I can't start the wars. I can't end them. But I have no allegiance. War is not black and white._

Those idiots.

I don't play their little game but I continue to gain from it.

Do I feel guilty? No.

Why should I? I don't start the wars. The general public doesn't ask for wars.

That's the king's decision.

Now.

Suppose I take out the king. Would that end the war? Would somebody carry on?

But that's the thing. War will always be. When a war ends and another begins, isn't the king just passing on the legacy?

So ultimately any war that is put to an end is just a minor setback.

It begs the question though. Doesn't it?

If war is hell, yet war is immortal…

Would stopping a war make me a good person? Would it make me a hero?

What a foolish question. Have you not paid attention?

War is not black and white.

_--_

I am the commander of a mercenary unit called Star Wolf.

I remember Andrew Oikonny. Gone. No longer welcome to our group. He was probably the only member of Star Wolf to actually declare loyalty to Andross during the Lylat Wars. He was actually _serious. _How naive, he has lost his independence. He is now close to becoming a "king". But what does that matter? He has a "colour" now. He is restricted.

Pigma Dengar? Gone.

Now that was a backstabbing asshole. He was annoyingly stupid. A rouge element. His greed made him too risky to keep on the team. But that is the irony for you. Don't you see? He had the right idea. He was looking out for himself. He had no loyalty. I hated him, but I could not help but admire that he _almost _did the sensible thing. He was greedy and a liar. But he had independence. Huh, but that ass thought that it was all he needed. A swine with independence is still a swine, thinking no further than what it wants. Independence is not an excuse for being an ass. Binded to his greed.

Panther Caroso is one of my current hang-ons.

There are times when I wonder to myself. _Why did I let him on the team? _Panther is annoyingly self-deceived himself into thinking that he is a ladies' man. But I have long since decided not to worry about this. He respects beauty (ugh), but ultimately he still does not declare loyalty to them. He is not as stupid as I would have thought. Unusual. Thinking about others despite independence. I sometimes consider him in my mind to be the opposite of Pigma Dengar. Now _that _was enough for him to be accepted.

And then there is Leon.

Cold. Calculating. He knows about war. I know that he shares my beliefs. Leon has been on the team for the longest. Despite his sadistic nature at times of battle, he has a truly sterile and pure mind. It is because of this quality that he can understand fully how life works. How war works. He is the most tolerable, he may actually be a kindred spirit to me. For he can see war for what it truly is. He is not a friend though. None of my teammates are true comrades. We don't fall into the trap of thinking that there is loyalty in war. Loyalty outside war? Not possible. War never ends.

--

The Mushroom Kingdom is not a nice place.

Forget what those tourist traps tell you.

How long have they been at war now?

The mushroom kingdom has been at war for so long now.

So long. That's the only description you're getting. No time measurement whatsoever.

Just long.

It goes on forever.

The actual public seems to have forgotten that they are at war.

Man, generations have come and gone. No wonder they don't realize, they don't know what freaking "peace time" is.

Anyway, why don't I tell you what I'm up to?

I am piloting single man star-fighter known as a Wolfen. It is the tool of which I will use to take out one of the kings.

Don't care about the hero-ship. But I will gain from my actions.

I see a castle, as black as midnight. It is shaped into the figure of Bowser, the king of the koopa kingdom.

Imagine the labour used to make that thing to his image.

Don't think that the appearance is the only thing that place going for itself. It _is _a place of nightmares after all.

I know that I have been spotted.

Missiles with faces fly to me. With faces? Does that mean they live? Is that all they know in life? To be brought into existence and then destroy themselves in hope of destroying an enemy? It's not _their_ enemy though. It's that damn leader again.

The missiles follow me. I perform a loop in hope of shaking them off. I should have known though. If you exist only to destroy, then surely you are going to do a good job of it. They follow the Wolfen. I twist and turn but they have no other intention but to collide with me. The moat! I threaten to fly into the castle's bridge but decrease altitude at the last moment. The missiles hit the bridge and end their sorry existence without fulfilling their purpose.

I thought flying low above the moat's water would protect me from the anti-air assaults. I was correct. I was _not_safe though. A squid leaped out of the water and stuck to my windscreen. Before I could fully register the full bizarreness of the situation they were practically swarming the ship. My vision was obscured and I would soon collide with something and meet my end. I desperately performed a barrel roll in hope of shaking the freaks off but found out that they had left some form of ink on the windscreen. I cursed them under my breath and blasted the water in an attempt to get some to land on my Wolfen and wash off the ink. Getting better now! I can vaguely see a shape in front of me...Oh hell no!

There was an even _bigger _squid in front of me now. It lashed out tentacles big enough to crush rock. I still could not see too much from all the ink on the windscreen and was forced to lock on to the monster using targeting computers. This took awhile but I eventually managed to drive back the freak.

That's when a fish leaped out of the water and knocked me off course.

Yes, a goddam _fish_.

It was at that point I no longer deemed the moat to be the safest (or sanest) place and I would never reach my destination like this. So I went upwards. I had a rough idea where he would be. I saw that my teammates had finally blasted open the portcullis on the castle entrance. Good. I flew into the castle. It was big enough for my Wolfen to actually fly in. The inside of the castle was even more chaotic though. Plants dive from walls and _bite _off one of my wings. Masked figures fire cannonballs from their mouths and knock leave dents in the side. A ghost materializes in my cockpit. I _really_ panic then. It dives for my throat and draws some blood. Without looking at it, I pick up my handgun and blast it. The cockpit windscreen also gets shattered. There is no logic here. None. This castle is war and chaos personified.

Masked figures fly by me with propellers. I notice that they are above me. I can't shoot them up there. I am in a corridor and cannot switch to all-range mode. There are too many to dodge but I am near my target. They drop bombs on me. I do my best to avoid what I can but eventually begin to lose control. I fire at the giant door in front of me until it yields. I smash through. The Wolfen skids along the floor before coming to a halt.

I leap from my ship and notice Bowser sitting in a throne on the other side of the long room. I check for escape routes but find that the windows are too high up. I move towards Bowser anyway. Two armored koopas leap at me. I bend backwards and his hammer swipes harmlessly above my head. I snap back upwards faster than he expects. I leap forwards and strangle the bastard. His teammate throws a hammer at me and I use him as a shield. The guy in my hands is concussed and can no longer fight. I still _make sure he won't get up_.

In about three seconds later the other Hammer Brother is lying at the floor at my mercy. I have my handgun in my hand and threaten to smash it into his head. My arm swings. I stop before it hits him. The Hammer Brother looks at me with relief. I shoot him in the face.

I continue walking across the room. I stand before Bowser. I point the gun at him and inform him of my mission to kill him.

He puts his finger to his mouth and says "Sshhhhh"

I look over my shoulder and notice he is watching what appears to be a television set.

--

"Now" says Bowser after a commercial comes on "What did you want?"

"Your men are fighting outside and you are watching TV?" I ask.

"Why shouldn't I? I have nothing to fear from this siege." Says the guy with the gun pointed at him. "If they could stop you from reaching me then I would not have to do anything."

"You seem confident" I exclaim, gun still pointed at him "For somebody who orders his men into a slaughterhouse."

"What right do you have to criticize me?" Bowser now had his head leaning on his fist.

"I actually take control of my situation to get what I want."

Bowser laughed. "I think that you are under the impression that I can't fight."

"I'm saying that you can't be bothered"

"So?" he asks. "What's the point of an army if they are not used? Why would someone be part of an army if they think they can do only the missions that _they_ want to do? If I ask them to march to their death then who are they to question me?"

I blink in disgust. I know war is not black and white. Yet, Bowser sickens me.

"You see..." he continued "If I don't want to do something myself then I believe I have the right to condemn as many as I chose. God is immortal and thus has the right to condemn man. Same goes for me."

"You think you are immortal?"

"I know that that peashooter of yours won't do the job for sure." Bowser stood up and walked over to me. The ground shook beneath him. Each step caused a tremor. He eyed me and smirked. "Do you know about my past campaigns?" he asks me.

"Your past _defeats_?"

"Heh. I have had many successful missions but yeah, it's these '_defeats_' that should concern you right now." Bowser turned his back to me and began pacing around with his finger pointing in the air and his other arm behind his back. Like a damn lecturer. He knows I'm still here pointing a gun at him but- "In no particular order I have met _'defeat'_ by being submerged in _lava, _falling the roof of my castle (_you've_ seen the size of it), blown up by explosives, stood in an erupting volcano, being reduced to a skeleton and forced to live via pure will, being poisoned, possessed by mad deities and even as a child I have been impaled on spikes."

At this point Bowser faced me once again and looked excited. "Recently I have fallen into a sun. A _sun_! You are a space pilot; _you _know just what a sun is like! Around 5,778 Kelvin in temperature, it has thermal, UV and infrared radiation that is simply immeasurable. It can support the life of an entire solar system and even if they _'die'_ they become an unstoppable raging force that brings _everything _down with it. An unstoppable, indestructible force of raw power created from whatever the universe has at its disposal. I survived that. Now tell me _now_ that I am not indestructible."

I did not know whether to be impressed or skeptical. "That seemed very _rehearsed"_

Bowser only grinned at this. "Impressions are important, I am quite impressed myself..._Wolf _wasn't it? That you happened to have maintained your _coolness _and _confidence _after hearing what I have been though."

"I have heard more absurd tales of what tyrants have been through."

"Oh but I assure you Wolf, my experiences are no exaggerations. In fact-"

I fired at him. A blast of green energy connected with Bowser's gut. He recoiled but his feet did not remotely leave the ground. He snapped back into position with little difficulty. I have heard enough though. He grins and charges towards me. I don't care what this guy has been though, he thinks he is indestructible. He has been through so much chaos, survives and continues to supply chaos. This _freak_may as well be a living avatar of war. I always accepted war's existence. But I _never_ liked war. He thinks he is forever. I think war is forever. If I kill him now then he is wrong, would that open the possibility that _I _may have been wrong? Dammit. I'm getting old, facts before dreams buddy. Facts before dreams.

"Heh. Some host I made"

He moves faster than his build would have suggested. _Literally_tearing across the floor. A fist the size of a sledgehammer swings at me. I duck the blow and roll between his legs to get behind him. He simply performs a seat drop immediately after. Nearly crushing me and causing a shockwave that sends me flying across the room like a rag doll. My body twists in the air in an attempt to land upright. I land on my knees, good enough. I fire at him again. The knockback effect is even _less_ now. He is coming for me _again! _I am backed against the wall and both of his fists are planted into the wall. I run up the wall and flip over his shoulder. I end up behind him. I aim for the back of his head. He tears that wall _off._

"Give my regards to the likes of Cackletta and Smithy..."

The debris is hurled at me. I slide under and roll back onto my feet. He has _more_ debris. I am forced to retreat to the other side of the room. I don't know what to do. I always had a plan before or at least improvised. I am at lost as to how this juggernaut could be stopped. A claw grasps my face- _What!? _I am lifted up by my head and see nothing but the palm of Bowser's hand.

"Teleportation...now that's something I haven't used in _years_"

I am tossed against a wall and I hear some bones break. The adrenaline flows through me and I don't feel the pain. I start to lose my rational thought but make an effort to keep my bestiality under control. I run at him. Dodge the fist. Blast his heart. Back away. He strikes the ground. I leap and kick him. Neither of my attacks accomplish much. The truth is beginning to sink in. I am beating myself to death against this tyrant. My legs are aching from my parries and dodges. Bruises coat me. I continue to fight. That is my job. Now he decides to- Oh crap! He is breathing _fire_ at me! There is now a barrier of flame cordoning part of the room off. Leaving me with even less space to maneuver. I look at him. He is holding fire in his hands.

"**STILL GOT THAT CONFIDENCE?**" he mocks. His voice disorientated and flame escapes from his mouth with each word.

It is not long before the room is burning like a furnace and I am beginning to sweat. Bowser has set _himself _on fire. Walking towards me with heavy steps. Leaving footprints of flame that refuse to die down. I am going to be boxed in at this rate. This guy may seem cocky but he is powerful, he knows how to use that power too. His head rears back and he sends another geyser of flame in my direction. I urgently slap my reflector device and surround myself with a reflective shield. _I can still feel the heat! _The flame dances around me and the attack is also directed against Bowser. After what seems like forever Bowser seems to feel the need to take a breath and ceases his flame for a split second, just enough for me to roll away before my Reflector overheats. _Oh why, o why did I not bring a rocket launcher?_

**"A Plumber could to better than you!!"**

It does not take long for Bowser to get back in gear. My body is sore; I clearly did not escape without some burns. I am on Bowser's home turf here; I should have known he would be prepared. _He is opening that mouth again. _Not having enough distance from him to outrun the next barrage of flame breath I take the course of action that he would never expect. I pull out my combat knife and run _towards _him. Before he can tell what I am doing I leap at him and plunge the knife into his tongue, the one visible part of his body unprotected by his thick hide. It works but I can already see the knife melt in his mouth. As Bowser thrashes around the room in pain I leap onto his body (doing my best to ignore the pain of the searing flame that surrounds him) and don't hesitate in shoving a live standard issue Cornerian grenade into mouth. He throws me over his shoulder and his fist connects with my stomach. I am sent flying to the other side of the room and land on my back. I struggle to breathe; his punch had compressed all of the oxygen from my lungs. I put my hand to my chest as I attempt to calm down. When I remove the hand there is fur and blood stuck to it. _Damn, I can't go on like this. _I know that my chances of going toe to toe against Bowser and winning is impossible but I figured that as tough as his amour may be, he has little defense on the _inside_ of his body.

I take comfort in the fact that my grenade should at least _wind_ that monster. That is until I see it roll beside me. "&#" Is my verbal response. _That bastard spat it back out! From that distance!? _I need no encouragement to ignore my injuries and run for my goddam life and the grenade detonates. In desperation I steal a throwing hammer from the hammer brother that lay forgotten and fling the heavy projectile at Bowser. He catches it and crushes it in his palm; I can actually see the hammer _drip _through his fingers because of pressure alone. I was such a fool for rushing in like this.

Bowser looks as though he is a gateway to hell now. He is clearly ready to barbecue my ass with ninth degree burns. I still try though. I do my best to avoid the fireballs which he pitches at me. When each one hits the ground it follows up with a deafening explosion that echoes though the castle and my soul. I wonder if my fine attention to detail is invoked by the inevitability of the situation. Do all soldiers fell this way when they bite the dust? That does not matter. Because I will not die. Not now. I don't care if I have to beat Mr. Immortal but _I will_survive. I never get the chance to test my theory as to whether I could kill Bowser. A Wolfen flies though the gaping hole in the wall created by Bowser and catches me on its windscreen. We are now leaving the castle.

I turn on my communications and speak directly to the pilot that took me from the battle. "What are you thinking Leon!?" I yell in frustration.

"Nice to see you too." He replies in an unemotional tone with more sarcasm than I have known him to use. "If you knew where Bowser was then why did you not simply fire a nova bomb in there?"

A nova bomb was capable of wiping out a city block and could be fired from Wolfens. "I had to make sure."

"Huh?" is the impatient response I get from Leon.

"I had to make sure he was dead. I had to see with my own two eyes. I had to check the pulse on his cold corpse."

"A _nova bomb _is not certain enough? Believe me Wolf, being struck by a weapon like that is sure enough of a kill."

I sigh, knowing full well that Leon had made up his mind. "Fine. Fire a bomb into the throne room and I'll check the room after to see if-"

"We have to leave _now _Wolf. Staying behind is a death sentence. There is no way, no how I am going to stay behind in a world that nearly saw my demise though a winged turtle shell."

"You will obey my-"

"No." Leon puts simply. "Panther is already firing the bomb into Bowser's room. We make a quick escape and live." I know that Leon is right. I have to make sure my own life is not taken. I have made a vow now. When I see Bowser again, I _will _know his weakness and I _will _be prepared. I will destroy the embodiment of war.

--

I watch as Wolf and his sidekick fly from my throne room. I look at the destruction that was inflicted.

Damn, that's gonna take some reconstruction.

I got carried away. I sit back in my chair and check the TV again.

Well, that fight killed enough time for me to miss the start of _Legend of the Golden Diva._ Cheers for that Wolf.

Huh, the Hammer Bros haven't been cleared away yet. Maybe I should just incinerate them myself.

Ah, hang on. Toad Force V is on. Nope, seen that one.

I _really_ need somebody to sort out that hole in the wall.

Actually, maybe I should tape that one for Junior?

Ugh, the light really shines in front of the screen now that I lack a wall. _Wait a second._

I look out of the hole in the wall. A ship looking similar to Wolf's is heading my direction.

_Again? _No, this is something different. The ship flies away at the last moment. Not before firing a bright looking projectile at me.

I have a good idea what it is. I saw some put to use during the whole Subspace situation.

I thought reconstruction was going to be long enough before. I feel really annoyed now.

The explosive continues to approach. I am not scared. I am...amused.

I smile. They don't seem to realize.

I am indestructible.

I am like that sun. I do not _'die'._

I merely become a much more powerful force for destruction.

The explosive hits the floor. The range is even larger than I expected. Light coats the room.

I make some _good _enemies. That makes my setbacks tolerable.

I don't care how many dead minions I end up with. I don't care how many bases I lose.

That's because I will outlive all who oppose me. Whether they meet their death by my hand or simply wither away, even the likes of Mario will simply not be able to fight anymore one day. But I'm not like that, I continue. Everybody withers and decays in their _'life'_. Not me, I know what life truly is. I grow stronger instead of withering.

The plasma from the bomb rips at me like an army of piranhas. The heat is greater than napalm. I am in the middle of a supernova. I will not die. I will only get stronger. Everything else simply stops eventually. I will not die. The light from the Nova Bomb overrides my vision completely and every room around me is _stripped _away. Let it happen. _You have made a powerful enemy Wolf O'Donnell and you have made a powerful enemy even more powerful._

_I will enjoy watching you die Wolf O'Donnell. With each escape from the destiny I declared upon you, my pleasure over the end result will grow._The screams and explosions have stopped now and there is only silence surrounding me. I can't see my body but have great faith in its survival capabilities. Death is for lesser beings. Those who rot away are proven as lower life to me. I have great patience in achieving my goals because I know that in the end I will be the only one left.

I am Lord Bowser.

_I am Indestructible_.


	4. Flowers

Did you expect me to write a story with these two characters? Be warned though, I am going to be experimental in this chapter in an attempt to fit the story. The style of writing is quite simplistic in this one, kinda like a bedtime story. The sort of format you would have someone like Kirby read...

Flowers

_Featuring Kirby and Mewtwo_

It was a very sunny day at Dream Land. Everyone was happy and the birds were singing. Dedede could not be bothered to annoy anybody and the flowers where blooming. The fish were swimming carefree and Kirby was attempting to catch one in his mouth. Kirby did not want to actually consume it but thought it would be fun to let it swim about in his mouth. Kirby was full of air and had trouble staying underwater; he decided to suck the fish up with his powerful enhalement ability. The fish flew into Kirby's mouth and Kirby danced in triumph. Then Kirby noticed that the lake was now empty and the other fish were flapping on the ground. Kirby realized that he had sucked up all the lake water. He disappointedly let all the water (along with the fish) back into the lake.

--

Mewtwo sat on top of a tree branch. He hoped that Dream Land's connection with the fountain of dreams would allow him to sleep peacefully for once. Mewtwo willed himself asleep and noticed that there was no death or suffering or fear. In other words, this dream seemed to be based on very few of his memories. Mewtwo noticed an elephant that was pink. Sadly his mind had trouble coping with how illogical the dream was and the elephant vanished. Mewtwo was flying but remembered that this was something that he did often and was not amazed. He noticed an island town with a volcano and instinctively landed. The island was populated and everyone who lived there seemed happy, they did not seem to see him as a monster. Mewtwo saw a mansion and went inside. There was a party underway and Mewtwo was the guest of honor.

--

Kirby was surprised to see a butterfly land on his head on looked at it with gleeful curiosity. The wings were very bright, they were pink and yellow. Kirby really liked these colors. The butterfly flew away so Kirby breathed in and inflated like a balloon. He flapped his fingerless arms in an attempt to imitate the butterfly's movements and to fly after it. Kirby was then caught in an updraft! Kirby was very surprised and was thrown against the trunk of a tree. His marshmallow like body suffered no pain or damage from the impact and Kirby could not help but giggle as to how fun the wind was to ride. Kirby looked under the tree and found some flowers. The flowers had pink petals and a yellow blossom. Kirby picked the flower from the ground and sniffed it. It smelled almost as nice a strawberry. This was saying something with Strawberry shortcake being one of Kirby's most favorite foods.

--

Mewtwo was greeted the second he walked through the door. Everyone wanted to say hello and shake his hand. There was music playing and there was cake. Mewtwo recognized some of the guests, one wore a red cap and another had yellow fur. A familiar pink cat-like creature appeared that had hair too fine to see without the aid of a microscope. The feline expressed delight at Mewtwo's presence and presented him with a neatly ribbon-wrapped present. Mewtwo was taken aback by this display of kindness and for the first time he felt nervous. The other guests had crowded around and where urging him to open the present. Mewtwo insisted that it could wait but they responded with even more enthusiasm.

--

Kirby plucked more flowers from the ground and screwed up his face in concentration. He was trying to remember a technique called "daisy chains" that he had learned from another smash brother. Kirby ruined the flowers on his first attempt so he picked more. It took quite a few goes but eventually he had it mastered. A chain of tiny flowers where now in a perfect link. Kirby squealed with excitement and danced with joy. The dived into the small bed of flowers and began rolling in them. He loved the way the soft petals would rub against his skin. He laughed with childlike delight.

--

_Was that a scream?_ Mewtwo looked over his shoulder cautiously but saw no sign of where it could have come from. He returned his attention to the present in front of him and decided that his best course of action would be to open it. Maybe it will satisfy them. After he carefully unraveled the ribbons he opened the box. After catching a glimpse of the contents he could barely conceal his surprise. It was the very thing he had always wanted. _But how could they have obtained this? _

--

Kirby was hiding in the flowers. He poked his head out and spotted the one he was hiding from. He stealthily ducked back under and crawled to the location where he would attempt to perform an ambush. Kirby leaped out of the bed of flowers and dived headfirst at the ground in front of him. Kirby was confused as to why he had missed the one he was hiding from but then noticed that the sun had moved, thus his shadow was now behind him. Kirby jumped upon realizing that his shadow had managed to ambush him rather than the other way round. He giggled once more with amusement and dived back into the flowerbed.

--

_Was that a scream again? _Mewtwo was face to face with a figure that should not be here. It was just not possible. The figure sported a white laboratory coat and was shaking Mewtwo's hand like they were old friends. He said that he was sorry for all the trouble that Mewtwo had been though. He said that he was here to make up for all those troubles that he had caused him. Mewtwo blinked with astonishment. _Who is screaming?_

--

Kirby laughed as he let the flowers get blown by the wind and brush against him. He found it lightly ticklish. Tears of mirth run town his face at the thought of the happy day he was having and that better yet; he still had the rest of the day to go. He laid himself on the flowerbed and shifted into a comfortable position. He decided to relax and watch the clouds go by. He saw ones shaped like apples, Meta knight and flowers.

--

Mewtwo backed away from the figure and into the table that had the food on. The plate holding the cake fell off and smashed against the floor. Mewtwo took a quick glance at where it had crashed but found no trace of it. He returned his gaze at the figure with the lab coat. He told the figure that he was beyond help and that there was no way that they could even be talking to each other in the first place. The scientist insisted that anything that was dreamt was indeed possible and that nobody should be shunned.

--

Kirby had drifted asleep and was chuckling in his dreams. He dreamt that he was riding on a warpstar faster than anybody else had ridden. He flew low on one of Popstar's oceans and watched the massive ripples that were being created behind him by the massive sonic boom what his warp star was producing. The ripples soon turned to gigantic waves but Kirby was not afraid of them. He easily out-speeded them. Kirby caught sight of the Dragoon and set chase after it. He was confident that he would finally win a race with it.

--

_NO_! Mewtwo barked viciously at the man to back away from him but the man only asked in a concerned tone what was bothering Mewtwo. The man was stepping closer to him. Mewtwo raised his hand and let his palm face the man commandingly, as he had done many times before. He told the man that if he did not step back then he would be forced to suffer the consequences. The man only told Mewtwo that his troubles would finally be at end...

--

Kirby shifted his weight into a softer part of the flowerbed and let a long, long strand of drool run down his face. In his dreams he was finally overtaking the Dragoon...

--

_NO!!_ _NOO!!_ Mewtwo's nerves jolted at the sound of the screaming and he reacted blindly. The scientist's limp body fell to the floor with his neck snapped by the full force of Mewtwo's psychic onslaught_. Monster!_ The other guests had gathered around the body with plasters in hand. They quickly applied them to the scientist_. It's no use!!_ The scientist rose back to his feet with no sign of injuries other than the adhesive bandages on his neck. He told Mewtwo that any mistake could be undone and forgiven. He said he would make up his own mistake to Mewtwo.

--

Kirby had conquered the Dragoon! To celebrate he had decided to explore a nearby island so he decided to land there. He heard music and decided that there must be a party going on. Kirby squealed with excitement and went to look for it. He really hoped there would be cake...

--

_Impossible!_ Mewtwo looked at the faces of the guests and concluded that their faces were twisted mockeries of smiles, not unlike rubber masks. Nobody was happy. Not while he was around. Everybody was lying about their feelings towards him. They were lying about the joy they experienced from seeing him. But that was not the worst part. The worst part was that they believed themselves. They really did believe that they were happy! But they couldn't be_. Crash!!_ Mewtwo looked at the scientist, he had shattered like glass_. Crash!!_

_--_

Kirby had located the source of the music to be a large mansion. He struggled for a moment to reach the doorbell and eventually managed to press it. He waited for a moment and was let in by a silly-faced blob with a long tongue. Kirby cried with recognition for his friend and followed him inside...

--

_Monster!! _They don't seem to realize there is a monster among them. They can't come to terms with that fact and it is destroying them. Mewtwo put his fingers to his temple and sighed. He was a fool for trying this. All the guests were nothing but shards of glass on the floor. The next guests would arrive soon but they would not be his. _Crash!! _The mansion lost its structure and collapsed. _Monster._

--

_Crash!!_

Kirby awoke with a start. He was quite surprised for having done so as his naps tend to last a lot longer. He wiped the drool from his face and looked for the chain of flowers that he had made earlier. It was not long before he found it and he laughed with relief for having not lost it. Kirby took his attention away from the flower chain and noticed the presence of a familiar figure. He was tall and had a long and powerful tail. He floated a short distance from the ground and due to the unique nature of Dreamland he seemed to have a small swarm of dark thunderclouds following in his wake. He was a pretty scary looking figure but Kirby loved him as he loved all his friends. Besides, he was nowhere as near a scary as caterpillars. Eger to show Mewtwo the effort that he had put into make the flower chain, Kirby run as fast as he could at the figure's direction.

--

Mewtwo had woken up with beads of sweat running all over his body. Feeling dizzy he left his perch on the tree branch and wandered around Dreamland. It was not long before he felt a soft projectile collide with him. It did not knock him over but his attention was attracted to it. The projectile was none other than the marshmallow like form of Kirby. Kirby seemed enthusiastic and carefree as usual. Kirby waved the flower chain triumphantly at Mewtwo and handed it over to him so he could have a good look at it. Mewtwo stared at the flower chain in his hand. Kirby was impatiently tugging Mewtwo by his other hand; Mewtwo followed Kirby but could not take his attention away from the flowers.

--

Kirby was happy that Mewtwo did not seem to be in one of his grumpy moods. He had even looked at his flower chain! He now wanted to show Mewtwo were he had made it and hopefully he would even get to tell him about his dream. Once they had reached the flowerbeds Kirby dived into the flowers playfully and urged Mewtwo to catch him.

--

Mewtwo ripped his eyes from the flowers in his hand and looked at the flowers that Kirby was hiding amongst. He believed that he now understood, but he needed to be certain. He experimentally pulled a single flower from the dirt. The flower ignited in his hand.

--

_Wow!! _Kirby leapt out of the flowerbed and walked up to Mewtwo. The flower in his hand (but thankfully not the chain he had made) was burning bright. The dancing light that was emanating looked pretty and not at all like the cold darkness that often emitted from Mewtwo's use of power, the flower actually seemed to react to this and popped lightly.

--

Mewtwo gently laid the flower back where he had unearthed it. His expression was grim. Kirby seemed to think the display it was impressive, Mewtwo knew that he would have to tell Kirby what was happening. He took one look at Kirby; the look was not a glare but enough to stop even the hyperactive Kirby stop right in his tracks. It was a look of pity. Pity for what? Mewtwo pointed at the flowers that Kirby had been rolling on.

--

Kirby noticed for the first time what was wrong with the flowers. They were _crushed_. No longer as beautiful as they once where and it was because they were now so _lifeless. _Mewtwo told Kirby that he could hear the flowers. He could hear them _screaming_. As Kirby twisted the petals they were screaming in agony for the eternal torture to end. Kirby also _ripped_ the flowers from the earth that gave them their life, the second they were uprooted they were separated from their precious nutrients that keep them healthy and alive; It was because of this the flowers continued moaning with pain until the long process of waiting for their life to slowly _drain_ away was complete. Kirby committed genocide amongst the flowers, his unstoppable wrath crushed the flowers alive, and they were the ones that did not scream for as long for they were spared from a slow death.

--

The flowers had such little life but Mewtwo knew that it was more than enough. Mewtwo had taken enough lives to know that they are unique and can never be replaced. Most importantly about life is that you only have one, to take that chance away from somebody...would make you a monster. The flowers had such little consciousness but it was more than enough for Mewtwo to feel every last impulse of their fear and suffering. Not capable of thought as such but they could _feel._ They could _live._

Mewtwo did not want Kirby to become like him. Kirby was the only sentient being he had ever met that was truly innocent and without malice. Kirby handed the chain of flowers back to Kirby and told him that he had done a very nice job, that he had put plenty of effort into it and that he ought to be proud of it. Mewtwo left soon after without another word. He knew full well that those last minute words of encouragement would not cheer even Kirby up right now. Mewtwo wondered if his actions where correct, Kirby deserved to live his whole life in innocence and who was he to take that away? _A monster_. But what if Kirby learned to respect even the smallest of life?

_He already did. There is no such thing as 'lesser' or 'more important' life. Life is life. Life is irreplaceable. Kirby knew that already. But did he know that the flowers where alive? The experiences today have ensured that he will never take a life. He is still the most innocent of us all. He will never be a monster._

_--_

Kirby did not notice Mewtwo leave. He did not even remember him being there. He was too busy looking at the chain of flowers. They where bonded together because of his effort. They where no longer pretty and he had gone though the trouble of displaying that fact. Kirby gathered all of the flowers he had been playing with and carried them far away from the meadows. He did not stop wandering until he came across some earth with not even a blade of grass to harm. Kirby put down the flowers and dug his hands into the earth.

Day turned to night at dreamland. All of the inhabitants where asleep and were dreaming of their perfect worlds. Kirby would normally be joining them but tonight he had not gone to sleep at all. He was digging. He was digging with his bare hands. Kirby was very powerful despite his cute appearance and could have easily made a massive hole in many different ways. He chose this method above all else. He chose this method of digging to avoid harming anything that may be living underground. He chose this method of digging so that he could make even more effort to honor the flowers than he did to mock them.

The birds were beginning to chirp as the sun's fist rays of dawn spread over Dreamland. Kirby had finished digging. He decided that the hole was now big enough. Kirby had never attended to this kind of situation but at the back of his mind knew what to do. He picked up a single flower and let it rest in his palm, taking a moment to regard what he was about to do. He let go of the flower and watched it gently settle into the hole. Kirby looked at the pile of flowers he had defiled. The bleeding flowers were many; the pile was even bigger than himself. Notherless, Kirby had already told himself what he was going to do.

It was now dusk in Dreamland. Kirby had laid all the flowers individually into the hole. The pile of flowers had since been replaced with the soil that once provided them with their life. Kirby was gently sowing the once precious substance over the flower's broken forms.

The sun was beginning to rest once more. Kirby had finished what he had started. Kirby looked at the mould of earth in front of him. Kirby had given the flowers what he had thought was a proper burial, one that would honor their beauty. Kirby had even gone through the trouble of finding and huge slab of rock to mark the burial site, he had painted a pink and yellow flower on it. It was nowhere as visually impressive as the masterpieces that his friend Adeleine would create but he thought it was fitting. The flowers had returned to the earth that birthed and treated them. Kirby had never attended to a funeral before and the word did not even exist in his vocabulary. Yet...this was definitely the way to honor them.

It was night. Kirby had been staring at his work ever since he finished. He did not feel like finding another soul to show it to and receive praise. He did not feel...pride...as such. Satisfied? Maybe. But the guilt would stay with him for a while. Perhaps even forever. Should he say some words of respect? He could not put his feelings into words. Eventually the lack of sleep had gotten to Kirby. He did his best to resist but finally admitted defeat and laid down to rest. Sleep would soon soothe him and his troubled conscience. Before shutting his eyes he took a final look at his shrine. _They were so fragile...but so beautiful...they still are...those beautiful flowers..._


	5. Rush

I was hoping to get this chapter done in time for 1000 views...close enough though huh ...Oh...If anyone is confused by Sonic's weapon of choice...its referring to the upcoming _Sonic and the Black Knight_. Thanks for the support I have received for both story collections I have written...It is very encouraging. But enough from me! You want to hear a story correct? ...Then let me tell you a story...but first of all...just what motivates you...? ...And just what motivates these legendary figures...?

**Rush**

_Featuring Sonic and Falco Lombardi_

An anthropomorphic bird with blue feathers and military style garb entered the house. The house had clearly been bombed recently, there was burn marks everywhere...the bird's name was Falco Lombardi. He was a member of the mercenary group known as Star Fox.

But not here he wasn't. That meant nothing here...Fox couldn't help him now...

He ran up the stairs until he reached a room on the top floor and ignored the family photo that cracked beneath his feet. He knelt down against the wall...just next to the window...he firmly held his blaster in his grasp...he cautiously looked out of the window...taking care to show as little of his head as possible...

--

"Falco...?" the call came from an anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue hair. His name was Sonic...he gripped a golden sword with his gauntleted hand...prepared to strike down whatever enemy may approach. It didn't look as though somebody would approach though...the streets were deserted...all that could be heard was the wind howling...Sonic half-expected to see some tumbleweed roll past...

For once he was defying his energetic nature and was moving at a slow and cautious pace...he raised his sword in front of him...

There was still somebody here...and that person would go through any lengths to eliminate him...

--

Falco flinched somewhat at hearing Sonic's voice but chose not to reveal himself...that would alert his opponent...and he would rather not get into a direct confrontation with his enemy...the enemy had already incapacitated Diddy Kong...although Diddy had almost evened the score by defeating the enemy's teammate...

Falco shifted uncomfortably...he would have to find a way to defeat the enemy before the enemy got anywhere near him...he wouldn't accept defeat...

--

Sonic leaped around the corner...and was greeted by a district just as deserted as the one before. Sonic steadily walked down the road...eyes darting from side to side. He then recognized that he was in the same area as were Diddy Kong met his defeat...the jetpack he was using was still there, but Sonic knew that using it would make him an easy target as the enemy had accurate firearms...no matter how good his reflexes were Sonic could not accept the risk of taking to the skies.

He wondered again as to where Falco was...he knew that Falco was still active...he would have known if he was defeated...but right here and now...he needed to find him.

--

Falco's breathing was soon at a minimal...he had put down his blaster and set up a sniper rifle at the window. He returned the blaster to its holster and gripped the rifle with both hands...he stared though the scope...watching for the slightest movement...

His eye darted to the left as a piece of discarded newspaper flew across the wind...he almost pressed the trigger instinctively...he carefully decreased the pressure he was applying to the trigger and attempted to calm himself.

The tension...the excitement of it all...he couldn't let it cloud his thoughts...it was risky to stick his weapon out of the window in the first place...if he was to fire blindly...then he would lose his stealth advantage for sure...

...And Sonic was down in the streets somewhere...Falco knew that...he wondered how the hedgehog was going to defended himself...

_Forget it. _He told himself. _You can worry about that later...right now that enemy needs to be naturalized...at all costs..._

_--_

Sonic fidgeted slightly...he wasn't used to going for long periods of time without action...many times he had only narrowly resisted the urge to simply run though the entire town and hope to just run into his opponent...but he would remind himself again and again that his enemy was dangerous...he would simply take Sonic by surprise in the brief moment that he would run past...

He shook his head...he knew that he had very few methods of drawing the enemy out without putting himself in a dangerous situation...his only option was to simply wait until the enemy run out of patience and begun making mistakes on impulse...

But Sonic was running out of patience himself...

_Don't do it! _He reminded himself. _It's not worth it! You'll get defeated!_

He gritted his teeth and moved onwards...taking care to remain in the shadows...

--

Falco could wait all day...his enemy was dangerous...but he was also Falco's prey...

"Where are you...?" Whispered Falco...he was allowing himself a faint smile...

His enemy would pay for attempting to do combat with Falco Lombardi...

--

Sonic steadied his pace...he was almost at full running speed.

He had finally given in to his instinct to run around the town...although he still had the common sense to try and stay behind cover...

His heart skipped every time he ran around a corner...fearing what he may find...

His pulse begun to quicken...he gave a little laugh to calm himself...

_No problem...I'm Sonic right? Sonic the Hedgehog...if anyone can defeat that guy...it's me..._

--

Falco had given up trying to search for the enemy...instead he closed his eyes...

_Wind...wind...wind...footsteps...wind...footsteps!_

His eyes snapped open...he ceased breathing in fear that the faint sound of such a thing would cover up the sound of--

_It's him..._

Falcon readjusted the aim on his rifle...looked through the scope again...

_Click...click...click...the clicking of his shoes against the cobblestones...click...click...footsteps are increasing in speed...click...click..click, click, click!_

He could just see him...he flashed past his scope in a second...

That was all he needed.

--

Sonic continued his patrol...surveying the town left to right with his eyes...

_Nothing there...nothing there...nothing there...wait...what's that shine...?_

Sonic slowed down slightly as some light shined into his eye...something was reflecting it...

_A mirror...? ...Or...?_

Another light appeared...

"Whoa!"

Sonic skidded to a halt.

The laser hit the floor in front of him with enough speed to break the sound barrier...dust scattered into the air and the buzzing noise from the laser's discharge could be heard half a second after.

_What the hell!? He knows where I am!? How long has he been watching me!?_

_--_

_What!? _

Falco swore to himself as Sonic narrowly avoided having his neck pierced by the laser...it would have been a sure kill if it had hit...

_That was too close Sonic...I could have killed you if that was a second earlier...or if you had not noticed the light reflecting from the scope..._

Falco quickly slid the bolt to his weapon and looked though the scope again...

_...But it won't save you this time..._

He fired again.

--

Sonic's thoughts were racing.

_Left! Right! No! Back!_

Sonic performed a back-flip...the ground erupted with dust beneath him as another laser hit impacted against the earth...

He landed on one of his hands...suspended himself on it for a moment and pushed his palm against the floor with enough force to launch him though the air backwards again...just as the next laser missed him by inches.

_CrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrap...Crap!!_

He landed on his feet...with his knees bent...crouching down...but ready to react...

--

"C'mon little hedgehog..." Laughed Falco under his breath... "Dance for me..."

He continued to fire...with both instinct and precision...his reactions and aim as one...the rifle was like an extension to his body...

The scope was his own eye...with it he could see his prey...

_...But I can't let you stay...got to finish this quickly...Diddy underestimated your reflexes and I'm not willing to make the same mistake..._

_...This ends now._

--

Sonic leaped directly upwards...the ground once again exploded with dust...

He twisted in the air...the next beam flew under his arm by inches...

He allowed himself a grin...

"You're too slow..." He whispered mockingly...

He landed on the ground in his crouched position once more...a second later he was no longer there...by the time the laser hit the ground again he was running for the convenience store in front of him...

He leaped for the window...performing a roll in mid-air as he let the next laser shatter the glass in front of him...he smoothly flew though as the shower of glass was still descending and lightly hit the floor in landing position once again.

_He has an advantage in distance and height...I need to reach his level...get this fight personal..._

--

_Can't escape the sight of a hunter hedgehog...I'm experienced in such things...you're just some punk who wants to play hero..._

It became clear however that Sonic was getting out of sight...perhaps another waiting game would occur...

If that's the case...he would need to find a fresh vantage point...he could wait for days but no matter how patient a sniper is...a _good_ sniper would never willingly have their position known to their prey...

He packed up the sniper rifle and armed himself with a machine gun that he had found...it was in a cupboard...as though the civilians had it prepared in order to defend themselves from the horror...

_As if there were some civilians..._

--

Sonic found a fire exit in the room behind the counter...he wasted no time in escaping to behind the store...

He stood in the alleyway...pondering on his position.

_Surely he can't see me...not when he was firing from that direction...unless...was he high enough to see over the store...?_

Sonic looked up...there was indeed very little cover...

_But if he could... _Sonic shivered. _I would be long gone by now..._

Sonic leaped at the wall as high as he could and embedded his sword into it...he hung suspended from it...

_I've got to get to his level..._

Using the sword for support, Sonic somersaulted onto a roof...pulling the sword out of the wall as he did so, he wouldn't lose it that way...

Resting the sword on one shoulder, Sonic surveyed the area from the spot...

--

The machine gun also fired lasers...just like those in the Lylat system did...it gave Falco a nice familiar feel...

_Above all...I really need to focus here..._

Knowing that hiding would be a difficult task Falco climbed to the roof of the abandoned home...Sonic didn't have any ranged weaponry on him...he made a point at not getting caught with a gun...

_Oh well...suit yourself Sonic..._

Falco stood atop the rooftop...Sonic would soon come into view again...this excited Falco...

_C'mon Sonic...show me what you're made of..._

_--_

Sonic turned back into the general direction of Falco's sniper position...he looked up...

--

A bird of prey...his gaze met Sonic's...

--

An adventurer...

--

A mercenary...

--

Sonic laughed...he slammed the sword into the ground despite being in clear view of his marksmen foe...he waggled his finger challengly...

He grinned...

_You ready for this Falco?_

_--_

Falco returned Sonic's smile...he cocked his head and gave Sonic a less than polite gesture with his own finger...

"You've been asking for this...punk!"

_Ready when you are Sonic..._

_--_

Sonic gripped the handle of the blade...

Falco didn't speak that loudly...but Sonic knew what he was saying...

"I know..." He replied...his grin widened. "Don't disappoint me..." He warned...

--

Falco positioned his machine gun...holding the scope to his eye as he did with the sniper...

"Don't worry..." He replied assuringly "I won't."

_Just so long as you don't disappoint me..._

_--_

_Go!!_

Sonic bolted forwards...ripping the sword from the rooftop as he did so...

_The funs only just begun!!_

_--_

_Go!! _

Falco opened fire...

_Let's see how far you can get..._

--

Sonic leaped from the rooftop and landed down onto the streets in front of him...

The home that Falco was using was on the other side of the street...and it was taller than the store he was standing on top a moment ago...

_No problem!!_

Sonic ran at full speed towards the building...shifted to the left and to the right accordingly...

_Bullet time!! For the win!!_

_--_

Falco smirked as Sonic evaded the first barrage...but he did not relent...

Sonic always was a bundle of energy...youthful energy...even at a time like this...

_Optimism won't get you your victory!!_

Falco continued to fire...constantly adjusting his position to get a better shot...

_Yeah pal!? Try it!!_

_--_

_Faster! Faster!!_

Sonic reached the building in no time...but he didn't stop running...nor did he change direction...

He was inches away from the building...he pressed his foot against it...and continued running...

Sonic the Hedgehog run upwards...

_Step it up already!!_

--

_Impressive..._

Falco walked straight to the edge of the building...keeping himself from falling by balance alone...

He aimed his machine gun downwards and straight at Sonic...

Maneuvering to the side while running up a building can't be easy...

_Dodge this!!_

_--_

Bolts of energy rained down on Sonic...

_Can't stop!!_

The projectiles were going to hit him any moment now...

He could feel the adrenaline rush through his body...

The rush...

Sonic lived for that rush...

He swung out his blade...a single bolt of energy was knocked off course...

He swung the blade once more...twice more...thrice more...the blade hit its mark each time...

Sonic's heart beat furiously...

_Can't stop!! Won't stop!! Don't stop!!_

--

The hedgehog advanced...

_That's more like it!!_

Falco let his machine gun drop rather casually down at Sonic...

He wondered what Sonic was going to do next...

The rush...

Falco's life was made worthwhile by the excitement of such things...

He drew a blaster which each hand...leaned forwards and dived...

He noticed the force of the fall attack him furiously...he could hear the wind tear across...

He was a bird...he was flying downwards...he would snatch his prey as he reached the ground...

_Go on!! What you going to do punk? Surprise me!!_

_--_

The machine gun was sliced into two before it could even reach Sonic...by the time those pieces hit the ground Sonic had already outrun it...

--

Falco aimed both of his blasters in front of him...down towards Sonic...

--

Sonic frowned with concentration and reared his sword up...waiting for Falco to come close enough...

--

Falco fired both of his blasters...

_You're dead!_

_--_

_Damn!_

Sonic was forced to swing his sword again to defend himself...

--

_Hehehe..._

Falco continued to descend...

He was now behind Sonic...both blasters aimed...

--

_Gravity may pull you down..._

Within a flash Sonic embedded his sword into the wall and suspended himself against it...

_But I can outmaneuver any force nature has to offer against me!_

He kicked off the wall...he was flying towards Falco with his sword in both hands...

_Eat this!!_

_--_

_Oh nuts..._

Falco leaned back and allowed his body to drop...he was in a nosedive and dropping faster than before...

He heard the air slice were his neck had once been...

_Close one..._

He aimed his dual blasters into the air and fired at the hedgehog once again...

--

_Is he mental!!?_

Sonic realized that due to being in the middle of the air...there was absolutely no surface to distance himself from Falco's projectiles...

_Bummer..._

Sonic held his sword overhead and swung down...

_If it works for Ike...then why not?_

--

_What!?_

Falco's eyes widened at the sheer arrogance at Sonic's action...

_Surely not even he would..._

_--_

The lasers tore at Sonic's body...but he continued to descend...

_Looks like I'm in the hands of gravity now...can't stop even if I wanted too..._

Sonic ignored his injuries and loss of blood...

The knockback was insufficient in knocking him off course...

He continued to gravitate relentlessly...increasing in momentum until his blade begun to heat...

--

_No!!_

_At this rate he'll slice me in half!!_

But Falco neglected to notice the ground race towards him...not until it was upon him...

_Damn!!_

He impacted against the pavement...

He heard a loud crack...

_Aaaagggghhh!!_

_--_

Sonic had almost reached the ground too...

He smirked...

_Sorry Falco old buddy...you lose!_

His blade continued to roar down...

--

A massive explosion of dirt formed itself at the sheer force of Sonic's attack...

Silence.

The dust begun to settle...

--

Sonic panted.

His arms and knees shook and threatened to give in...

_Did I...win...?_

"Better luck next time..."

--

The dust cleared from the crater that had just formed in the zone of impact...

There was no body...

"Couldn't agree more."

--

"What!?" Sonic screamed in alarm. "How did you--"

He found the barrel of Falco's blaster pressed against the side of his body...

--

Falco grinned evilly.

He had rolled out of the way just in time.

"Dodge this one speedy!"

He fired.

--

Sonic's body lurched back at the blow that was delivered to him...

It went clean through...

It was apparent that the laser had pierced his lung...

--

Falco laughed in triumph...

"See that you little freak!?" He taunted. "Game over!"

--

Sonic's smile flexed around his face...

His body begun to lose balance...he was about to drop...

He flipped the sword around in his hand and held it in a backhand position.

"Couldn't agree more..." He jeered...

As his body fell backwards...it twisted around...his sword swung in sync...

--

Falco swore.

"I don't believe you..."

The blade cleanly sliced at his neck...

His body crumpled to the floor...

It was unmoving...

It showed no signs of life...

Falco had lost.

--

"Yes!!" Sonic screamed in celebration. "In your face you damn pigeon!!"

Sonic was soon dancing around in triumph...performing fist pumps constantly.

He had won.

--

Falco rolled his eyes and furiously began to strangle Sonic with the Wii-remote and Nunchuk.

"Shut up already!" He roared. "We know you won already!! Give it a rest!!"

--

"Gack!!" Sonic choked. "Ga...Gah ha...ha...heh..."

--

Upon hearing Sonic laugh at him, Falco tightened his hold.

"Come again?" he asked calmly and mockingly.

--

"Gack!!" Sonic spluttered violently.

He performed a slashing motion with his hand across his throat...

_I give! I give!_

--

Falco smiled with satisfaction and let Sonic go.

--

Sonic spluttered and rubbed his throat.

He continued to do so until he finally stated "Geez! You could have really done some damage! It's only a game already!!"

--

Falco shrugged.

"I know. Doesn't make you any less irritating." He told him simply. "Besides, I don't believe that bull about game controllers being dangerous."

He looked around.

"Where's Diddy get to?" he asked as he slipped the safety strap off and tossed the controller onto the chair.

--

Sonic paused in thought before replying.

"I think he ran away when you started yelling for at Red for that frag he did..." He replied.

--

Falco crossed his arms and shook his head.

"He deserved it!" Falco snapped defensively. "That trick with the landmines was downright dirty!"

--

"Y'know…the same could be said about that stunt _you_ pulled with rocket launcher…" Sonic reminded him.

--

"Yeah…well…it's there to be used…" Falco replied…still fuming…

--

Sonic smiled and walked over to Falco…deliberately offering him his hand in such an obvious patronizing way.

"Good game pal." He complimented cheerfully.

--

"Whatever." Falco muttered…turning to leave. "Where did Red go?"

--

"I think he ran away too…" Sonic grinned. "Got pretty tense huh?"

--

"It's just a game." Falco commented with finality.

--

"But _I_ won!" Sonic pointed out…indicating the winner with his thumb. "And _you_ lost!"

--

Falco was prepared to give Sonic an obscene physical gesture with his hand but then paused…

He smirked back…

"I bet…" He began… "You wouldn't be saying the same thing if we got into a _real_ fight…"

--

"Zat so…?"

Sonic's grin widened.

"Willing to put your money where your mouth is?" He asked.

--

Falco sniggered…

He spun around in the blink of an eye and pressed his blaster against Sonic's forehead.

"You were saying?" He asked sweetly…

--

Sonic sniggered back…

--

Falco glanced down with the corner of his eye…he found that in the time it took for him to make his move…Sonic's fist was already against his stomach…

"Well then…this is interesting…" He commented…smile continuing to spread…

--

Sonic rolled his head to the side to achieve a cracking noise.

"Ready to rumble…pigeon?" He challenged.

--

"Bring it on…" He replied…

--

Both of them were going to enjoy this…and they were going to especially enjoy the rush it provided them…


End file.
